Sunday, September 9, 2007

Plate full of Samosas for a rainy evening

Whats Your Favorite Snack?

Ans: Samosa

Its monsoons in India at this time. You actually feel the monsoon season if you are a resident in a coastal place like Mumbai, kerala, Goa etc. In monsoons, the tiny pearls of pure water ( combined with many chemicals if you are a resident of a big city) touch your skin giving way to cool weather after the harsh summers. The mighty fall as though from a far away galaxy onto a tree, then branch of a tree and finally on mother earth makes you want to dance. The smell from earth is enchanting, you have to experience it to feel the smell. I have very fond memories of monsoon and some very scary memories.Fond memories include eating fresh field grown mushrooms, black fresh water crabs ( yumm), getting wet in rains on the way home from school; Scary or not so fond memories include not eating fresh fish for days together, damp clothes hanging in almost every corner of house ( since it pours n pours n pours ...non stop in goa). Gosh !! I have memories of eating only :(...I am totally addicted to food ( on contrary to popular belief that I eat only a bite or two). AS a child our evenings in the monsoons were spent indoors cause outdoors used to be soaked in rains. We spent these evenings sipping ginger chai or lemongrass chai with some piping hot fried food. Most of the times it was onion bhajji. When mom wasn’t busy she would make samosas, batata wade or medu wade. I thought my mom made the best samosas in the world till I ate them at my friend n neighbor AHK's place. They were super easy to make with very less pre-preparation time. The stuffing for change wasn’t potato filling. I just loved these and asked AHK to gimme the recipe. One evening she called me home for tea and showed me the detailed procedure. That angel also packed a plate full of samosas for K. We just love her for her kindness. This post is basically as a "Thank you" note to AHK. Love u ...muah !!

Method:We'll make knead the dough first.Heat oil and add to Maida. Now add salt and water and knead it till soft. Apply a drop of oil to your hands and rub it on the outside of the dough. Let it rest in that time we'll prepare the stuffing.

For the stuffing:Boil the peas ( incase you are using fresh peas). Press the peas hard with the hand masher to get the mashed feel. Do not mash into a paste.Grind together ginger, coriander leaves, chilies ( without adding water). My blender does not grind without water so I finely grated ginger, chopped coriander leaves very finely, . Heat oil, add jeera. When the cumin seeds splutter, Add the paste or finely grated ingredients. fry till it is aromatic. Now add the peas, sugar and salt. cook this till all the water has evaporated. Do not leave any water.Let this mixture cool.

Start rolling the dough into small chapattis. cut into half with a knife. fold into a triangular samosa. Put the filling, fold it.we generally fry on high flame but this is to be fried on very low flame till golden brown.

pooja.. i have a great idea..why don't i shift closeby to ur place..so that you invite me for tea and make samosas for me and at the end send some home for my husband (which i shall eat before he comes home ..he he)..yummy samosas..makes me drool